George Hofer returned to his Hutterite
colony in southeast Alberta with a strange tale of a funnel of fire in
a farmer's field.

The funnel lit up the night for an hour, then faded into
sparkles.

A month later, farmer Ken Masson found a three-metre-wide
circle in his field, with four indentations inside.

Word spread quickly that an alien spacecraft had landed.

This week, a University of Lethbridge geologist refuted
the UFO theory, but replaced it with an explanation nearly as interesting.

Pano Karkanis said the crater in Masson's field near
Etzikom, 250 km southeast of Calgary, was caused by a meteorite.

Karkanis analysed the soil in the crater and tested it
for radioactivity.

He found no signs of radioactive material that might
suggest exposure to extraterrestrial technology (as if ET always uses radioactive
propulsion systems -ed), nor did he find anything else indicating a spacecraft
had landed.

He dismissed the indentations as marks made by rainfall
(oh, please -ed), saying the meteorite probably buried itself a metre deep
in Masson's field.

But Karkanis' findings drew criticism.

Masson himself didn't buy the rainwater explanation,
pointing out the area had been dry as a bone, with farmers such as himself
lamenting the absence of rainfall.

Others have said a meteorite wouldn't produce the effect
Hofer saw, and that it would have left residue in the crater.

Also, the crater's perfectly circular shape is not likely
the result of a meteorite impact, believers said.

Masson wishes to leave the site undisturbed until the
mystery is unravelled.